You And I
by girlggc
Summary: This story is about Sheldon and Penny falling in love. It starts the Monday following s07e05 The Workplace Proximity at which point it becomes AU. It's Shenny so if you don't like Shenny than don't read this story! Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sheldon was positively stunned, although "stunned" really wasn't strong enough a word to describe the way he was currently feeling; it was really more like a combination of dazed and astounded. His day was not going at all as he expected. It had started off normal enough with his Monday morning routine. In fact, it had been positively average until exactly 10:03 am when his cell phone rang.

"Hello, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper," he answered. He listened closely as a man with a European accent talked into his ear. The accent was so strong that at first he couldn't quite understand what was being said so he was forced to ask the man on the other end to speak slower. That was when he finally understood that he had been selected as the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics!

He was shocked, absolutely shocked; he hadn't even known that he had been nominated for the 2013 Nobel Prize! Silently, he listened to the man inform him that he would be required to come to Stockholm, Sweden on December 5th for lectures, press conferences, receptions, and dinners. The award ceremony would take place on December 10th. Following the award ceremony would be a banquet and that the dress code at the banquet was white tie and tails. There would be dinner at the royal palace on December 11th. He would be allowed to bring one person with him.

Once Sheldon was off the phone, he took a few deep breaths before texting Penny his good news. He then proceeded to text Leonard, Raj, and Howard. Finally, he texted Bernadette. He did not text Amy as Amy had informed him not to ever text him at work again unless it was a dire emergency. She had said that since they were now working in the same building, there was no real need to text during work hours.

Lunch time rolled around and Sheldon strolled into the crowded cafeteria with his food feeling like he was, figuratively speaking, on cloud nine. He saw President Siebert sitting with Doctor Gablehouser at a table near the back wall and they both happily waved at him. Being in such a good mood, he would have waved back, but since he didn't want to drop his food he settled for smiling at them.

His euphoric mood was immediately soured when he saw Amy, sitting at their usual table with Leonard, Howard, and Raj, sobbing hysterically. Leonard and Howard were looking at each other while Raj was patting her on the back. He walked over to his usual spot at the table, put down his tray of food, looked at Amy and said "Why are you crying?"

Raj stopped his patting and Amy took a few deep breaths and hiccuped a bit. She then turned to face him and said, "Sheldon, you got word that you won a Nobel Prize. You told everyone in our group, even Penny, before you told me! How could you do that to me?"

Sheldon was confused. He decided to ask Amy for clarification. "Amy, you told me not to text you at work unless it was a dire emergency. I do not believe this qualifies as a 'dire emergency'. Also, how did you know that I told Penny?"

"Leonard told me that Penny had texted him about it," said Amy. "But Sheldon, don't you think I would want to know something of this magnitude immediately?"

"I also told her that you texted Bernadette," said Howard. Sheldon ignored him.

Sheldon felt anger rising within him. "If you wanted me to tell you this right away than you should not have told me not to text you at work!"

"You have a point." Amy took her napkin and wiped her tears with it before balling it up and placing it back on the table. She then stood up and held out her hand. "I really am happy for you."

Sheldon looked around and saw Leonard gaping at him open-mouthed while Howard and Raj looked at each other. Sheldon chose to ignore them.

"Why are you holding out your hand?" asked Sheldon, turning his attention back to Amy.

"Sheldon, with your eidetic memory, you will remember that in section 5 sub-section B of our relationship agreement it states that either party is deserving of a hearty handshake after winning a Nobel Prize."

"Very well," said Sheldon resignedly. He did not enjoy public displays of affection and he felt that shaking Amy's hand counted as such. He stood up and shook Amy's hand.

After they both sat back down, Amy asked, "Now that that's out of the way, when do we leave for Sweden?"

"Now hold on a minute! I was thinking of taking Penny," he said, stiffening. He really didn't like it when Amy just made assumptions.

"What?" Amy sounded extremely angry; this was not good. He glanced around the cafeteria looking for a place that he could possibly hide, but alas, the cafeteria was extremely crowded. He did, however, see Kripke sitting alone at a table in a corner and that made him feel a little better because at least he had people to sit with.

"Yes," said Sheldon, making sure that the volume of his voice was low to minimize the possibility of people overhearing. "You see, awhile back, Leonard had the opportunity to visit the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland."

"Leave me out of this!" interjected Leonard.

"As I was saying before we were interrupted," said Sheldon with a glare at Leonard, "Leonard was going to take Penny with him to Switzerland, even though he was supposed to take me according to our friendship agreement, but both Penny and I ended up getting sick so he decided on taking Raj. I feel that both Penny and I deserve a vacation and this is the perfect opportunity."

"Sheldon," interrupted Amy, "that is unacceptable. I am your girlfriend, therefore I should be the one to accompany you." He thought she sounded annoyed, but it was hard for him to be sure.

"Dude, I'm on Amy's side," said Raj. Sheldon glared at him.

"Amy, you didn't let me finish!"

Sheldon saw Howard roll his eyes at Raj while Leonard sighed.

"Okay, go on," said Amy.

"You forget that you are on a no-fly list due to some incident when you, Penny, and Bernadette attempted to go to Las Vegas. Because of this incident, you three gals joined us in our game of Dungeons and Dragons. How can I take you to Sweden if you are on a no-fly list?"

"We could take a boat to Sweden. It would take longer than by plane, but we'd arrive there together. Plus we would get to share a room," said Amy dreamily.

"No, Amy, I refuse to take a boat." Sheldon felt sick at the prospect of being thrown overboard. He did not know how to swim and he didn't want to have to learn on the spot.

Amy looked like Christmas, her favorite holiday, had been canceled. "Then we are over."

Sheldon saw Leonard mouth "uh-oh" to Howard and Raj but he chose to ignore it. Instead he returned his attention to Amy and said "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I wish to terminate our relationship agreement."

Sheldon had always assumed that if Amy were to terminate the relationship agreement that he would feel anger, disappointment, and sadness. Instead he just felt relief. Much as he liked Amy's mind, he found it very difficult to be in a relationship with her. He did not enjoy physical contact with her in the least. Now that he was thinking about it, they really would make much better friend than anything else. "Very well," he said, "I will draw up the official termination document tonight. I hope that we still can remain friends."

Amy didn't say anything. She stood up, took her tray of food, and walked over to an empty table and sat down. There was an extremely awkward silence.

"Sheldon," said Leonard, breaking the silence, "you can't take Penny with you to Sweden!"

"Why not? I no longer have a girlfriend, or at least I won't after tonight. What else is there to interfere with my taking Penny to Sweden?"

"Penny is my girlfriend, not yours, and I forbid you to take her to Sweden!"


	2. Chapter 2

**First off, I don't own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story. Second, I would like to give a huge thank you to my beta reader RiStark.**

The car ride home from work with Leonard was a quiet one. Sheldon couldn't help but feel angry on Penny's behalf when he thought about Leonard forbidding Penny to do anything. Penny was an adult, not a child, and therefore no one should forbid her to do anything. He knew that if anyone tried to forbid him to do anything he would get angry and rightfully so.

Sheldon was so deep in thought that when Leonard stopped at Siam Palace he was confused. "Why did you stop?" he asked.

"It's Thai food night. You do want your mi krop and chicken satay, don't you? Because if you don't we can always have something else," said Leonard irritably. He looked upset.

Sheldon realized that he was walking on thin ice with Leonard so he took a deep breath and cautiously said, "Don't be ridiculous. It's Monday so of course we're having Thai food."

The silence resumed until they reached their apartment. Just as Leonard was about to unlock the door, Penny exited her apartment, closed the door, and walked over toward them.

"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully. "Thai food tonight?"

"Penny, it's Monday," answered Sheldon grumpily as Leonard opened the apartment door. "Of course we're having Thai food." He wished that he could be more excited about his Nobel Prize, but the whole situation with Amy weighed heavily on his mind.

"For someone who just found out that he won a Nobel Prize, Sheldon sure doesn't seem too happy," Sheldon heard Penny say to Leonard after they entered the apartment.

"He and Amy broke up," answered Leonard, as Sheldon put his keys in the bowl.

"Sheldon, what did you do?" asked Penny as Sheldon put away his messenger bag and hung up his jacket.

Sheldon felt that he really hadn't done anything wrong, so he said "I didn't do anything wrong. I was simply doing you a favor and Amy was completely unreasonable about it."

Sheldon heard Leonard snicker and so he sent a scathing glare at him in response.

Sheldon saw Penny's eyes narrow at him so he hurriedly continued his explanation as he sat down at his spot on the couch. "I merely informed Amy that I was going to take you to Stockholm for the awards ceremony instead of her. You were sick when Leonard was going to take you to Switzerland so I assumed you would be more deserving."

Penny sat down next to Sheldon and said, "Sweetie, that's very sweet of you to think of me, but it really would be more appropriate for you to take Amy."

"Penny, I can't take Amy because she is on a no-fly list so we would have to take a boat. I can't take a boat. What if I get thrown overboard? I don't know how to swim."

"Oh, Sweetie, I really appreciate it, but I still can't go with you. I'm with Leonard." Sheldon saw Penny look discretely at Leonard as she said this. He quickly glanced over at Leonard and noted that he looked particularly perturbed.

"Penny, don't worry about it," said Leonard, distributing the food, napkins, and utensils. "I already explained that to him and I told him that I forbid him from taking you."

Sheldon saw Penny glare at Leonard before he heard her say, "Wait a minute! Leonard, you can't forbid me to do anything!"

"Penny, you're my girlfriend! You can't go to Sweden with Sheldon!" he said defensively.

Sheldon did not like all the yelling so in an attempt to put a stop to it, he said, "Leonard, Penny's right. You can't forbid her to do anything. Penny is not a child."

"Thank you, Sheldon," said Penny in what did not sound like a sarcastic tone to him.

"Stay out of it, Sheldon!" snapped Leonard.

Sheldon picked up his chicken satay and began to eat.

"You know, Leonard, just because of your whole attitude, I think I will go with Sheldon to Sweden!"

"Not as long as you're my girlfriend you won't!"

"I guess I'm no longer your girlfriend then!"

Penny started to cry as Leonard picked up his food and stomped off in the direction of his room.

As much as Sheldon didn't like physical contact, he felt that should do something to try to calm Penny down. He put down his chicken and then wrapped his arms around Penny in an awkward hug. The hug wasn't as bad as he had expected. He was surprised to note that it was much more pleasant than hugging Amy. Also, Penny's hair, which smelled like cherry blossoms, smelled better than Amy's hair ever did. Maybe it was because Amy only used dandruff shampoo? Sheldon decided that he would analyze the hair issue later and focus on Penny right now.

Sheldon, having once snuggled with Amy when she was upset, decided that this situation was similar enough that Penny would want to snuggle. Surprising himself with the intense desire to make Penny feel better, he said "There, there. I'm here if you feel the need to snuggle."

"Sheldon, are you actually asking me to snuggle?" asked Penny sounding disbelieving.

"Well, I wouldn't be completely opposed to it." He leaned back and prepared himself for a long snuggling session with Penny.

They had been snuggling for twenty two minutes, and Penny's tears had long since dried up, when he heard Penny ask, "I know Howard and Bernadette are on a date, but where's Raj?"

"Raj has opted to spend time with Stuart this evening," said Sheldon, wondering whether it would be socially acceptable to ask for a break from snuggling to put the food away.

"Thank you," said Penny, sounding sincere. "Oh, Sheldon, by the way, congratulations on winning the Nobel Prize."


	3. Chapter 3

**Big Thanks to my beta reader RiStark. Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story.**

Sheldon was standing in his office staring at his white board. It was 9:14 am on Wednesday, two days since he and Amy had broken up and since Penny and Leonard had broken up. Two days ago he had snuggled with Penny. Snuggling with Penny had been quite a different experience than snuggling with Amy. It had felt better, more natural, to snuggle with Penny. It also helped that Penny's hair smelled better than Amy's.

Oh no, he thought morosely, here he was thinking about Penny's hair again. This was turning into something akin to an obsession. He did not want to obsess about Penny's hair. He had to think about something else.

Tonight was new comic book night, which was good. It would get his mind off of things such as Penny's hair. Besides, he was looking forward to the new Batman comic book. Batman should take his mind off things, like how holding Penny had made him feel all warm inside. Drat; he was thinking about Penny again!

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door. Before he could say anything, however, Kripke barged in.

"Congwatuwations on winning the Nobeh Pwize, Coopeh" said Kripke in a tone that told Sheldon that Kripke was only in his office because he to be.

Sheldon was grateful for the distraction, but was irritated that it came in the form of Kripke.

"What do you want?" Sheldon asked brusquely.

"I just wanted to wet you know that Pwesident Siebeht wants to see you in his office in ten minutes," said Kripke, looking at Sheldon with discust and awe.

Exactly ten minutes later, Sheldon was knocking on President Siebert's door.

Knock, knock, knock, "President Siebert."

Knock, knock, knock, "President Siebert."

Knock, knock, knock, "President Siebert."

"Come in!" came President Siebert's somewhat exasperated voice through the door.

"Hello, President Siebert," Sheldon said cautiously. He didn't know what President Siebert wanted, but he hoped that it didn't involve physical contact.

"Doctor Cooper! I'm going to cut to the chase. On behalf of Caltech, I would like to officially congratulate you on winning a Nobel Prize!" President Siebert seemed happy; this was good. "I also wanted to personally tell you that you are getting a twenty thousand dollar raise and a bonus of ten thousand dollars."

Sheldon nearly fainted from shock. While he expected a raise, he wasn't expecting one immediately or one of such value. His current salary was sixty three thousand dollars a year. With this raise he would be earning eighty three thousand dollars a year and he would be able to afford to move to an apartment building with a working elevator. But the thought of moving away from Penny made him feel slightly nauseous so he decided not to think about that.

"Thank you," said Sheldon gratefully.

The rest of the morning went pretty normal with the exception of Sheldon's thoughts. He found himself unable to concentrate properly on his equations because his thoughts kept drifting to Penny. There was Penny's delightfully scented hair, the wonderful way her body felt snuggled up next to his two nights ago, the way her breast had felt in his hand the night she had dislocated her shoulder, the soup tattoo on her buttock.

Sheldon felt something stir in his nether regions. He realized that if he kept up his train of thought about Penny then he would be forced to masturbate here at work. The thought of doing something so personal at work would be unacceptable to the point where he would never be able to use the men's room again due to shame and embarrassment.

Sheldon knew that people thought that he didn't have any sexual thoughts at all. The truth of the matter was that he was a man with fully functional genitals and experienced everything that all men with fully functional genitals experienced. He masturbated every Sunday at 7:15 pm because if he did not ejaculate on a regular basis, then he would experience nocturnal emissions which was not acceptable to him at all.

Sheldon usually masturbated to images of scantily clad women with ample hind quarters that he had in several magazines that he kept in his sock drawer. He had the impression, however, that when he got home tonight there would be an unscheduled masturbation session. He wasn't sure which disturbed him more, the fact that just thinking about Penny got him to the point where he was that aroused or the fact that his schedule would be off.

Sheldon decided to make a concerted effort to distance his thoughts from anything that might make his current predicament with his genitals worse. What he should focus on now a life goal. Up until now, his life goal was to win the Nobel Prize. Now he needed a new goal because he would be lost without one. He'd had the goal of winning the Nobel Prize since he was ten years old and it had really helped him direct his life. How would he be able to direct his life without such a goal? He was only thirty three years old and therefore had a lot of time left to live. What did he really want in life? That was something to think about.

Sheldon got so caught up in thinking about his life goal, as to which he was still clueless, that he was nearly late for lunch. When he sat down at the table in the cafeteria with Howard and Raj, the topic of conversation was Raj's dog. Cinnamon had bronchitis and Raj wasn't sure if he should stay home with her or go to the comic book store with the others.

"Is there any comic book in particular that you want?" asked Howard. "I could pick it up for you."

"No comic book in particular. I was just really looking forward to seeing Stuart. However, Cinnamon needs her daddy so I guess I'll have to stay home," Raj said sadly while looking at his food.

Sheldon, who was quickly getting bored of this topic of conversation, decided to speed things along by throwing in his wisdom. "Raj, you just saw Stuart on Monday. Stay home with your dog if it's that important to you. Stuart will be there next week."

"But Stuart is really depressed! I don't think I can see him enough. I mean, we had a really good time on Monday. I made chicken piccata and we watched As Good as it Gets. Then Stuart and I looked through my telescope and I told him all about the different stars." Raj said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"I'm sure Stuart will understand," said Howard. Sheldon noted that Howard looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not so sure. He really seems to like spending time with me," Raj said while poking at his peas with his fork.

Sheldon, who was understandably bored at this point, sighed. It was at that point that he realized that Leonard was taking an unusually long time to arrive at the table.

"Have either of you two seen Leonard?" he questioned, scanning the cafeteria as he did so.

"Oh, he's over there, sitting with Amy," said Raj, vaguely gesturing to the area of the cafeteria behind Sheldon.

Sheldon looked over and saw Leonard and Amy sitting together and laughing.

"I feel so bad for Cinnamon!" lamented Raj. "She keeps coughing."

Sheldon realized that if he didn't change the subject, he would be listening to Raj talk about Cinnamon and Stuart for the rest of lunch. He needed some advice and since he still hadn't forgiven Leonard for forbidding Penny to go to Sweden with him, he decided that he would just ask Howard and Raj.

"I need some advice," he said cautiously. "As much as I know, which is a lot, there is one thing that I don't know."

"You're asking us for advice?" Howard said incredulously.

"Yes. My problem is this; I have won the Nobel Prize. I have achieved my life goal," Sheldon happily stated.

"How is this a problem?" asked Raj.

"Yeah," agreed Howard. "If it were me, I'd be happy to have won a Nobel Prize."

"Oh, winning the Nobel Prize is not the problem," explained Sheldon. "The problem is that now I don't know what to do with my life now. I need a new life goal."

"Well," said Raj thoughtfully, "You could always find someone to settle down with."

"Raj, you're talking to Sheldon," said Howard.

"Oh, right. Well, if you are not interested in settling down, I have no advice. Sorry." Raj did not sound sorry at all.

"Sheldon, I think Raj has a point about settling down. I mean, Bernadette is the best thing that's ever happened to me. The problem is that you screwed up your relationship with Amy. Who else would be willing to go out with you?" Howard said very pointedly and not at all remorsefully.

Sheldon spent the rest of the work day thinking about what Raj and Howard had said. While he had spent his entire teenage and adult life suppressing his baser urges, that didn't mean that he didn't have any. Leonard had even told him that he was a practically a semi-pro at masturbation. Now that he had won the Nobel Prize, what was stopping him from exploring those baser urges further?

Also something to think about was the thought of settling down. That actually appealed to him. He didn't think that no matter how much he explored his baser urges that he would be one to go having sexual intercourse with multiple partners. Also, he liked the idea of having progeny someday.

Before he could explore this train of thought any further, he received a text message from Penny saying _would it b__e__ ok if I joined u guys at the comic book store 2nite?_

Before he could think about it, his response was a resounding _Yes._


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story.** Also, please note that I was having troubles with finding a beta reader so this chapter is not beta read. If anyone wants the job, please let me know!

Sheldon was flipping through the new comic books with Leonard and Howard. Raj, who in the end had decided to accompany them to the comic book store, was over by the register talking to Stuart. Sheldon personally thought that it was rather pointless to go into a store and not look at any of the merchandise.

Leonard and Howard were having a Batman versus Superman debate. Normally, Sheldon would have happily joined in the debate, but he was having a hard time focusing on both the comic books and the discussion. He looked at his watch for the seventh time in six minutes. Penny was late.

Sheldon was always irritated when people were not punctual. However, for some strange reason, this time Penny's tardiness caused him to feel more unsettled than usual. Perhaps it was because Penny in the comic book store was rare. Or maybe it was because he had found a comic book that he thought her nephew would like.

Before Sheldon could further persue this line of thought, Penny walked in. Sheldon picked up the comic books he had pulled, including the one he thought would be appropriate for Penny's nephew, and made his was over toward her. Unfortunately, Captain Sweatpants was blocking the most efficient route to Penny so Sheldon did not reach Penny as fast as he would have liked.

"Hello, Penny," said Sheldon happily when he reached Penny.

"Oh, hi Sheldon!" Penny said with a smile. Sheldon's heart rate sped up a little at the sight of Penny's smile.

"I picked out a comic book that I think your nephew will like," said Sheldon, offering the item to Penny.

"Thank you," said Penny, taking the comic book. Sheldon noted that she sounded distracted. She was looking over in the direction of the register so Sheldon, following her gaze, glanced over there.

Sheldon, not seeing anything other than Raj and Stuart, asked Penny "What are you looking at?"

"Raj. Do you think something is going on him and Stuart?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Sheldon, look at them! They're flirting!"

Sheldon looked over at Raj and Stuart again and noticed that they were laughing and Raj was leaning in and touching Stuart's shoulder. He really wasn't good with body language so he decided that if Penny said that was flirting than he would take her word for it. He decided to change the subject. "Do you think your nephew will like that comic book?"

"Yeah, it's great," said Penny. "Maybe you could help me find some more? I want to give him more than one."

"Oh, Penny," said Sheldon as they made their way over towards the section that he thought would interest Penny's nephew, "I want you to know that there is a banquet following awards ceremony. The dress code is white tie."

"What are you talking about?" asked Penny, sounding a little confused.

"The Nobel Prize," Sheldon said patiently.

"Oh, yeah. White tie! Wow!" said Penny. Sheldon couldn't really make sense of where she was going with her train of thought so he decided that he would carry on as if what she had said made sense.

"Yes. Since it is white tie, I doubt you have anything appropriate to wear."

Penny's eyes narrowed at him. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

"Well, to help you in that endeavor, I'm going to give you five thousand dollars."

Penny's eyes opened up really wide and her jaw dropped. "Sheldon, sweetie, thank you, but that is way too much! I would never be able to pay you back!"

"Nonsense. It's a gift."

"It's way too much, you can't afford that." Penny said firmly.

"Penny, I have just been given a substantial raise and a large bonus at work. Besides, I have a lot of checks that I have never cashed or deposited. Trust me, I can afford it."

"Sheldon, I would feel funny taking your money. I don't want to take advantage of you." Penny looked sad.

"Penny, you are my guest on this trip, therefore it is my duty to pay for all of your expenses for your trip. Let me give you the money."

"Please, Penny," Sheldon practically begged.

"Oh, Alright," said Penny, sounding determined, "but I will pay you back. I don't know when or how, but I will."

"Thank you," said Sheldon. He didn't know why it was so important to him that Penny take the money. He knew that paying that most people would consider that paying for someone's room, board, and transportation costs more than adequate. Sheldon also knew that Penny could come up with appropriate attire. He just had this overwhelming urge to provide for her. Maybe it was due to his recent thoughts about settling down. Perhaps his subconscious felt that Penny would make a suitable spouse for him and mother for his offspring. This would be a subject to think about later; right now he had to focus on comic books.

Sheldon shook himself out of his thoughts and was just about to go browsing again when he glanced at Penny. She was again looking over at the register. "Why do you keep looking at Raj and Stuart?"

"Because I think there is something going on between them."

"Are you insinuating that Raj is a homosexual?" Sheldon wasn't sure if that's what she meant so he sought clarification.

"Yes," answered Penny.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story.** Also, I want to note that this chapter is also un-betaed. If anyone wants the job, feel free to contact me!

It was 11:14 am on Thursday, October 24th, the day after Penny had come to the comic book store. Sheldon had a lot on his mind. He had so much on his mind, in fact, that he couldn't concentrate on his work so instead he was pacing around his office. Halloween was in one week and he still hadn't figured out his costume. He had to book a hotel room for Nobel Prize week. He had to get proper attire for all of the various Nobel Prize events. He had to think about Penny's theory about Raj being a homosexual. In addition, there was Penny herself to think about.

Sheldon's train of thought was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He took his phone out of his pocket, looked down at the caller I.D. and saw that it was his mother. What could she possibly want? She knew that he didn't like it when she called him when he was at work! He decided that it must be some sort of emergency so he answered the phone.

"Hello Mom," he said feeling a little bothered.

His feelings must have been conveyed through his tone of voice because his mother's response was "Sheldon Lee Cooper, is that any way to talk to your mother?"

"No Mom, I'm sorry," Sheldon said, not feeling sorry at all.

"That's not all you have to be sorry for." Her tone sounded angry and Sheldon immediately knew that he had done something wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"What's wrong? Shelly, why did I have to hear it from Meemaw? Why did she have to find out in a letter? Why didn't you call?"

"Find out what?" Sheldon wasn't sure quite what his mother was referring to since he told Meemaw a lot of things over the years in his letters to her.

"Shelly, don't play dumb with me. You are getting a Nobel Prize so you are obviously not stupid!"

That was when it hit him that he hadn't called his mother to tell her about the Nobel Prize and she was annoyed about that.

"I'm sorry for not telling you," Sheldon said sheepishly as he sat down in his office chair. He could tell that this conversation was not going to end any time soon.

"Thank you, Shelly, for realizing your wrongdoing. Anyway, I'm sure Amy must be excited for you."

Sheldon hadn't mentioned his breakup with Amy in his latest letter to Meemaw. He knew that Meemaw wanted nothing more for him than to settle down and have a family. Telling Meemaw about the breakup with Amy would break her heart. He supposed, though, that the truth would come out sooner or later so he figured that now was as good of a time as any to spill the beans, so to speak.

"Amy and I broke up," he said cautiously.

"Why did you have to go breaking up with Amy?" His mother sounded angry. This was not good.

"I did not break up with Amy. She broke up with me."

"Oh, Shelly, why did she go and do that?" his mother asked softly.

"She said it was because I wouldn't take her to Stockholm with me when I get the Nobel Prize. I think that she was jealous because I'm taking Penny," Sheldon explained.

"Of course she was jealous!" Oh boy, his mother's anger was back.

"I don't know why she would be. Amy knows perfectly well that she's on a no-fly list so we would have to take a boat to Sweden!"

"So you take a boat to Sweden, Shelly! You were telling me just a few weeks ago that the university wants you to take another vacation! I was hoping that you would come visit us, but this is more important."

"Oh, you know as well as anyone that I don't swim!" Sheldon realized that getting angry at his mother was not going to help the situation. He took a few deep breaths before continuing. "I don't want to learn on the spot. Anyway, a few years ago, Leonard was supposed to take Penny to Switzerland on Valentine's Day. Actually, he was supposed to take me. However, both Penny and I got sick so neither us were able to accompany Leonard to Switzerland so he ended up taking Raj. Penny is more deserving of this trip than Amy is."

"That doesn't matter, Shelly. You DON'T decide to take the neighbor girl to an award ceremony instead of your girlfriend! Anyway, isn't she dating Leonard?"

"No she is not dating Leonard. The two of them broke up when Leonard forbid her to go to Stockholm with me. Also, since I no longer have a girlfriend, it is a moot point." Sheldon was starting to get frustrated with the conversation.

"Well if by the grace of God you ever do get another girlfriend, make sure you put her above everybody else so she won't go and break up with you!"

Sheldon wanted to finish the conversation soon. It was time for lunch and he was hungry so he said "I have to go."

After his mother had said good bye, he stood up, pocketed his phone, and headed to the cafeteria.

After he got his food, he looked around the cafeteria and spotted Amy and Leonard at one table and Howard and Raj at another table. He decided to join Howard and Raj rather than face his ex-girlfriend.

"Gentlemen," he said in greeting as he sat down.

"Hi Sheldon," said Howard before stabbing a couple of carrots with his fork.

"Hello Sheldon," said Raj cheerfully. "The meatloaf looks delicious today," he added, looking over at Sheldon's tray.

Sheldon looked down at his meatloaf and saw nothing out of the ordinary about it, so he said "It does not look any more delicious than usual."

"Don't spoil this for me, Sheldon. I'm in a great mood today," Raj said warningly.

"Why is that?" asked Sheldon. He was a little miffed that Raj had opted to skip playing Halo the previous night to spend time with his dog. Since Leonard and Penny were not currently on speaking terms, they could not invite Penny to take Raj's place and therefore Halo night had been canceled.

Halo night being canceled annoyed Sheldon more than it normally would have because he ended up sitting in his room thinking about Penny. Thinking about Penny lead to sexual arousal on his part and his usual method of dealing with it, the practice of kolinahr, failed him which ended up leading to a session of self-abuse. Really, this attraction to Penny was getting out of hand.

"Because Stuart ended up coming home with me last night and we had a sleepover!" Raj said excitedly, shaking Sheldon out of his contemplation of the previous night.

"Did you guys do each other's hair?" asked Howard only a little facetiously.

"Actually, yes!" exclaimed Raj.

This line of conversation got reminded Sheldon of what Penny had said about Raj the night before so he said to Raj "Penny thinks that you're a homosexual."

Sheldon started cutting his meatloaf as Howard said "Sheldon, with the exception of maybe you, everyone that Raj knows thinks that Raj is a homosexual."

"Guys, I've got a secret to tell you," said Raj quietly and a little guiltily.

Sheldon looked up from his meatloaf as Howard said "Oh?"

"I've been holding this in for my entire life, but the truth is that I'm gay," said Raj quickly.

"That comes as a surprise to absolutely no one," said Howard.

"Wait a minute," said Sheldon. "If you're gay, how come you couldn't speak to women for most of your life?"

"They scare me," answered Raj as he chased a pea around his plate with his fork. "I mean, they are more likely guess that I'm gay than men are."

"So is Stuart your boyfriend?" asked Howard sounding genuinely curious.

"No," said Raj. "At least I don't think he is. Last night was the first time we did it. In fact, last night was the first time that I ever did it with a guy."

"Well would you like him to be?" asked Howard.

"I don't know. I'm all confused," Raj said.

Sheldon suddenly did not want to hear anymore on this subject so he said "New subject. Did you know that owls lay white eggs to protect the eggs in the snow?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story.** Note that I still don't have a beta reader and if anyone wants the job than please contact me.

Sheldon was still not on speaking terms with Leonard so he got a ride home that evening from Raj. On the way to pick up Stuart, since Raj had begged to bring him to pizza night, Sheldon tried to play car games with Raj. Unfortunately for Sheldon, Raj just wanted to listen to Katy Perry's latest CD. Sheldon had never heard of Katy Perry before and he was not very impressed. Raj, however, was singing along as he drove, leaving Sheldon to his thoughts.

Sheldon started thinking about his list of things to think about that he had made in his mind earlier that day. After lunch, he had made reservations online for both airfare and a hotel room. He hoped that Penny wouldn't mind sharing a room with him because The _Grand Hôtel, where all __of__ the Nobel Prize laureates stayed, was quite expensive and he couldn't afford to get her a __separate__ room. __Well, he supposed that technically he could afford it, but part of him didn't want her to sleep in different room so he justified it by telling himself that paying for two rooms in a five star hotel for a week was __ridiculous._

_He had also decided that he would dress up as the eleventh doctor from Doctor Who for Halloween.__While the eleventh doctor was not his favorite, it seemed that getting the right clothes for his costume would be the easiest with this particular doctor. __He chose not to go with a superhero costume because he wanted to do something just a little bit unpredicted._

_As for Penny's theory about Raj, well that was now confirmed. __Sheldon glanced over at__ Raj __and saw that he__ was __now beaming. __Curiosity got the better of __Sheldon__so__ he asked __Raj__ "Why are you so happy?"_

_"__Because Stuart is going to be joining us for pizza night," __Raj said._

_"__Yes, I am aware of that. However, we see Stuart quite frequently so why does Stuart's presence at pizza night affect your mood?" __asked Sheldon curiously._

_"__Because being around him makes me happy," answered Raj. "__When I'm with him, I feel __a sense of completeness. __He makes me want to be a better person. __I don't know, maybe I'm in love."_

_What Raj said resonated __with Sheldon. __H__e __had the startling realization that he experienced__ those same feelings about Penny. If Raj thought he was in love with Stuart because of those feelings than was he in love with Penny? __This was not good. __He could not be in love with Penny. __Sure Penny was his friend. In fact, Penny was possibly his best friend, although he would never tell Leonard that. If __he were to date Penny, that would __almost __certainly ruin their friendship. __It was a moot point, __though,__ because there was no way that Penny would ever be interested in him__._

_When Sheldon, Raj, and Stuart reached the landing in front of Sheldon's apartment, __Sheldon unlocked the door and let Raj and Stuart in first. __He was just about to enter the apartment himself when Penny came out of her apartment. __Penny was not dressed for work so Sheldon wondered where she could be headed, especially since he knew that she was well aware that it was pizza night._

_Sheldon quickly closed the door before asking __"__Penny, where are you going?"_

_"I thought that maybe I would go out dancing," responded Penny._

_"__You can't go out dancing," Sheldon said. "It's pizza night."_

_"__Oh, thanks __sweetie. __That's very nice of you to want me to come over for pizza. The thing is, I don't want to deal with Leonard."_

_"__If by 'deal with Leonard,' you mean have a confrontation with him, you need not worry. I will not let Leonard bother you," __Sheldon said with more conviction than he felt._

_"__Thanks Sheldon, but I'd really not be there if there's going to be a scene."_

_"__Well at least come in for a little while. Leonard's not home yet and there's something that I want you to see."_

_"__Wait, if Leonard's not home, how did you get home?" asked Penny sounding a little confused._

_"Raj gave me a ride," answered Sheldon as he opened the door._

_Sheldon nearly bumped into Penny because she was standing just a little bit inside the door, staring at the couch. __It was obvious as to why because Stuart was seated on the right couch cushion and Raj was in the middle. __Raj's armed was draped around Stuart. __Sheldon felt that Penny was owed some form of __explanation__ so he whispered to her "__Raj informed me and Howard at lunch that he is a homosexual. __You__r theory was correct."_

_Sheldon would have gone on but at that point Stuart chose to speak up. "Uh, hey Penny," he said sounding uncomfortable. "__This isn't what it looks like."_

_"__Yes it is," interrupted Raj, "this is exactly what it looks like."_

_"__Okay, it is what it looks like," said Stuart._

_Sheldon __closed the door and__ moved around Penny to put his coat and bag away. __Penny walked into the kitchen and started looking through the refrigerator while Sheldon took his computer out and put it down on his computer desk before heading over toward the couch. __Sheldon had just sat down on his spot when Leonard came in._

_Leonard had just closed the door when Sheldon heard him say "What on Earth?"_

_"__Leonard, I have something to tell you..." mumbled Raj._

_"Raj is gay," said Penny with a little bit of glee __in her voice __as she closed the refrigerator door with a beer in her hand._

_"__Penny, what are you doing here?" Leonard asked loudly, Raj and Stuart clearly momentarily forgotten._

_"__Sheldon invited me over for pizza night."_

_Sheldon remembered his promise to Penny so before either Leonard or Penny could say another word, Sheldon said "__Yes I did. Leonard, be nice to my guest."_

_"__I'm glad you've decided to speak to me again. By the way, Sheldon, y__ou__r__ guest is my ex-girlfriend." __Leonard snapped back in response._

_"__Yes," acknowledged Sheldon, "__I am aware of that. What's __y__our point?"_

_"__Bros before hos," said Leonard._

_"__Leonard, I take offense to that. Penny is not a 'ho,'" said Sheldon __making air quotes. "Penny is an intelligent lady who has not had promiscuous sexual relations in over two years!"_

_"__That's not what I mean!" snapped Leonard._

_"Oh, I knew what you meant. Howard explained it to me some years ago. I wasn't finished."_

_"__I'm going to get going," said Penny._

_"No! I mean, Penny, please wait."_

_"__I'll give you __two__ minute__s__," said Penny._

_"Leonard, if you were such a believer in 'bros before hos' than you would not have started eating lunch with Amy instead me, Howard, and Raj. __Amy is my ex-girlfriend."_

_At that point, Howard and Bernadette walked in. "__Hey guys," said Howard __in greeting__._

_"Hey," said Stuart._

_"Hi, Howard. Hello, Bernadette," said Raj._

_"__Hey," said Penny._

_Both Sheldon and Leonard ignored both of them._

_"__That's different," said Leonard._

_"How so?" Sheldon __asked__, thinking of the __hypocrisy__ of __Leonard__._

_"__What's going on?" asked Bernadette as she moved over to stand next to Penny._

_"__Raj is gay and Sheldon and Leonard are talking about bros before hos," Penny quickly __summarized._

_"It's different," answered Leona__rd, "__because you don't have feelings!"_

_Sheldon felt a surge of anger but before he could say or do anything, __Penny stepped in front of Leonard and said "You take that back! Of course Sheldon has feelings! He just has trouble expressing them! Sheldon is actually very sweet!"_

_"__Uh, guys?" said Stuart, who was ignored._

_"__Sheldon? Sweet?" Leonard snorted._

_"__Yes Sheldon is sweet! __He took care of me when I dislocated my shoulder in the shower! He likes people to think he's some kind of robot, but deep down he really does have feelings!"_

_Sheldon felt his heart warm when he heard Penny's words. __He decided that he should probably remind him that he was still there so he said "__Thank you, Penny!"_

_"You're welcome, sweetie. Right now I would rather date you than anyone else in this room," said Penny while glaring at Leonard. __Sheldon felt his heart skip a beat and thought briefly about getting it examined._

_"__What about me?" asked Raj._

_"__Raj, you're gay," __stated Howard.__ "Why would Penny want to date you?"_

_"__Fine," snapped Leonard. "You can speak __to Penny all you want. But I'm inviting Amy over for pizza night next week!"_

_"__That won't work, Leonard. How could you forget that Thursday of next week is Halloween?" __asked Sheldon before he turned to Penny and said, "__Penny, w__ould you like to go to a Halloween party at Stuart's store with me?"_

_"__I'd love too," said Penny. __Sheldon__'s heart skipped another beat a__t Penny's words as__ he__ saw __her__ send__ another glare at Leonard._


End file.
